AN:

It's been forever, I understand, and my struggling muse can forever be blamed for that absence. Smut problems, yo.

Because I finally finished this; the ending wasn't completely edited, so if it starts to fall out a bit at the bottom, well, that's your reason. I finally finished and I wanted to post it for all my faithful readers. :D

As promised, centers majorly around Natalie and Caleb both separately and together. At the very beginning, there's Devon x Sophia and this will probably be the last we see of them if not permanently than for at least a while. Devon will probably make a few more appearances though, but mostly cameos.

WARNING: Smutty goodness lies ahead. (hopefully you guys find it enjoyable anyways, it was seriously being a pain in my ass, turns out, I can write smut much more easily when I'm not trying to write it, and believe you me, I was trying to write it for this chapter - hence the ungodly delay). Also, plenty of f-bombs also lie ahead because apparently, f-bombs are Natalie and Caleb's thing.

Hope this was worth the wait, both for the update itself and because of the shifts in certain relationship dynamics.

I have a few ideas of what I want to do next, but nothing set or permanent so don't be too surprised if the next update takes awhile, just as this one did.

Special Shout Outs:

Zenna Wildfire: :D :D

Randichele: I'm so glad you liked it! And I don't think I'd want to trade places with them either. But this chapter's a little bit lighter, so they've caught a slight break. :)

Lady of Sign: Yes! I wanted it to be. :) Chase's return is all a part of the mystery. Are those questions you really want to know the answer to, because eventually they'll get answered, but in the story I haven't answered them yet.

Heartbreakerginny: Yay! So glad you thought so! And I hope the beginnings of this chapter help to explain Sophia's actions a little bit better for you. Hope you enjoy what comes next for Natalie. ;) As for Avery, that questioned should be answered within the next few chapters.

SusanCullen: Good unexpected? I'm glad you liked Sophia's accepting nature, there are a few reasons for that, one is explained in this chapter, the other is that that's just who she is. I'm kind of entertaining the idea of doing a side Devon x Sophia fic, but that wouldn't happen until this story is over and done with. Super glad you liked last chapter, hope you find this one awesome as well. :D

Elise(233?): Then hopefully you love this chapter! ;) Violating her like the evil s.o.b. he is? Awesome that you found it so intense, I was really going for that. :D Super stoked you love Natalie, and her relationship to everyone else in this story. The more love, the merrier! :D I LOVE YOU! Haha. Seriously, enthusiastic reviews such as yours are like ecstasy to my ears/eyes. ;)

WitchGirl101: So glad you liked it, I was a little concerned the darker intent wouldn't have carried through as I wanted it to. He didn't actually rape her, he had the intention to do so, however, and not just to her, but to all of them. Is it wrong of me to say I purposefully planned that loop? But it had its purposes, as you'll see later on in this chapter. Chase is a truly awful character (at least for my current purposes), tragic was needed and I'm really proud that you found it that way. In answer to your question on Avery, a little bit of both. What happened with her will be further delved into in the next few chapters. / I completely understand waiting, sometimes I do the same thing with stories I'm reading. And I am sorry about the long update spans, seriously, my muse though. haha. So glad the mini binge was worth it though! :D And absolutely no worries, I have no intentions of ever abandoning this story, I've devoted too much into it, and so have all of my readers and followers and etc., and I couldn't do that to you guys. / Hope you enjoy this Natalie centric chapter! ;)

Zouzou816: So glad you liked it! Was kind of nervous it wouldn't have been such a great hit. The others will figure out in later time, so my advanced apologies on you having to wait to see their reactions. Hope you enjoy though!

To all my reviewers: (All you beautifully awesome people) you guys rock, thank you for the continued encouragement, and for taking the time to review, it means a lot!

To all you non reviewers: you rock too, and I'm glad you're still reading!

Additionally: to my newest readers and reviewers, awesome!

x

She woke up slowly, so slowly, and everything returned to her like some sort of hazy, fog-filled dream.

She expected to be hit with a renewed sense of panic or violation as everything Chase had said, everything Chase had done and attempted to do came back to her; but the dual sources of heat on either side of her seemed to drive away any severe aftereffects, at least for the moment.

It was only when she rapidly blinked through the sleepy dew and her vision cleared that her mind actively registered the soft exchange of murmured voices in the slightly unfamiliar room cast in the soft, golden hues of a rising sun.

"Morning Natalie," The deep, familiar rumble of Devon's quiet tones had her looking to him wide-eyed and searching. Wondering just what had happened last night; had she crawled back into bed with him? Had he accepted her into his bed last night? Had she fucked up his thing with Sophia?

A soft pressure around her waist slightly startled, but mostly comforted her. "Morning? You two need to go back to sleep, it's too damned early."

As her memories of the night before came back, memories of gentle hands combing through her hair and soft urgings to do certain tasks chased away Natalie's discomfort and, unbidden, a smile flitted across her mouth; a smile echoed with gentle affection on Devon's expression.

"She's not a morning person, I take it?" Natalie whispered softly to Devon with amusement.

"No she is not." Sophia grumbled back, and Natalie bit her lip to stop her laughter as Sophia seemed to nuzzle in between Natalie's shoulder blades, as though that would help her to outrun the sun.

Devon had just opened his mouth to make some smartass retort, Natalie was sure, when Sophia somehow managed to beat him to the punch. "Not a word, Devon, not a single syllable."

Devon gave a soft, low chuckle, the happy contentedness emanating from him soothing a far away part of Natalie that feared Devon wouldn't find the happiness in his life that he so deserved.

Wiggling around, Natalie managed to turn in Sophia's grasp so that she could face the blonde; the blonde who was scowling with her eyes closed as she adamantly tried to ignore the further brightening room.

"No matter how tight you close your eyes," Natalie murmured lowly, teasingly, "I don't think it'll get rid of the sun."

"Shh," Sophia hushed, "If I ignore it long enough, it'll go away."

Devon's voice at Natalie's ear, "Usually this is the part where I tuck the covers over her head. I swear she thinks it's magic."

Natalie let out an indelicate snort of bemusement, a low chortle following afterwards until only a smile remained. It was after her show of humor that Sophia peeked through one green eye, a small smile pulling at the other girl's mouth in that same, maternal way that had stricken Natalie the night before.

Mission accomplished. Sophia thought to herself as she noted that most of the shadows of fear becoming less prominent in pretty blue-hazel eyes.

But far too soon for Sophia's liking, all traces of humor left Natalie Parry's expression to leave her somber and serious, "I'm sorry." She whispered almost inaudibly.

Sophia's brows drew down in obvious confusion, she didn't understand.

"For intruding," Natalie explained, "For disrupting your – " Natalie trailed off, unsure just what Sophia and Devon had classified themselves as; it had taken months for Devon and Natalie to move from a strictly beneficial acquaintanceship to an actual relationship, and even then, their relationship was more of a great friends with fantastic benefits than anything else.

Sophia shook her head; she didn't need Natalie to clarify to understand what the other girl was getting at. Pulling her arm away from its' position around Natalie's waist, Sophia gripped Natalie's right hand within her left, looked to the slightly older girl in earnest, "Devon told me about you," She assured, "He told me from the get go about your relationship…I didn't really understand it at the time, didn't understand what he had meant or what it would mean for me and him. I didn't understand it until last night, but Natalie – I do understand it now, and more importantly, I accept it." Sophia promised confidently and without breaking eye contact, even though she could feel Devon's penetrating gaze practically boring holes into the side of her head.

"Whenever you need it, whenever you need someone to care, someone to take care of you?" Sophia prompted, "You are more than welcome to him, and you are more than welcome to come and find me too. Whenever you need us. You're a big part of his life, Natalie, I'm not selfish enough to deprive either of you of such a great friendship as the one you two have built for yourselves." Sophia's hand squeezed Natalie's, "So promise me Natalie, promise me you won't hesitate."

If her throat was a little bit thicker than usual, Natalie blamed it on the run-off of Devon's suddenly intense and overwhelming emotional overload. If she was a little choked up, it wasn't because Sophia, a practical stranger, was extending an olive branch that could very well save her life one day.

A scraping of a throat had Natalie turning to look at Devon questioningly, though he wasn't looking at her, he was staring at Sophia with darkened eyes and a look about him as though he hadn't ever seen the petite blonde before. "She won't take no for an answer, Nat," And even though he had cleared his throat, his voice was still thickened and hoarse with raw, unfiltered emotion, "So you might as well just agree with the little vixen."

Sophia meets Devon gaze with a playfully quirked brow, but despite the playful banter, the playful looks, something transpired between them. There was a sudden, fundamental shift in their relationship; a line was crossed, their bond cemented… there was no more option of turning back for Sophia and Devon, they were in it for the long haul.

"I promise." Natalie whispered, breaking their connection only for Sophia to give Natalie an almost, devilish smirk.

"Good." Sophia winked, "Had you felt inclined to disagree, we would have held you hostage in this bed for the rest of your days."

"That's punishment?" Natalie challenged, because she couldn't recall the last time she had slept so well; especially after such a terrifying night.

"I'm a cover hog," Sophia confessed sagely, "And a serious canoodler. It'd be Natalie sandwiches twenty-four seven; and I have the oddest habit of turning upside down in the bed."

Natalie gave a small laugh at that, allowing Sophia to further distract her from the problems she didn't want to have to face, but would eventually be required to; eventually, however, wasn't presently and so she spent the next few hours getting to better know the girl who was well on her way to stealing the parts of Devon's heart that Natalie had gotten nowhere close to claiming as her own. And as the hours dragged on, Natalie found herself falling just a little bit in love with the young woman that was equal parts kind, honest, and funny.

Caleb had awoken in a cold sweat, his whole body on edge at a surge of power that eclipsed everything he had ever felt before. A wash of icy dread made his appendages buzz numbingly despite the wave of heat that pierced his stomach. The only thing he knew to compare it to was that time he felt the Power in use months ago, when Putnam had just made his appearance in Salem, to the Covenant.

His abrupt awakening had been hours ago. He hadn't been able to return to the dark grip of sleepy unconsciousness, but he had been able to suppress his broiling panic until the sun finally began to rise over the lightening sky, making it a somewhat suitable hour for him to go to Spencer and seek out the rest of the Covenant for answers.

He had sought out Pogue first, but when neither he nor Natalie had responded to his calls at the apartment, he resigned himself to going to Tyler and Reid first. Low and behold, much to his growing annoyance, he found Tyler and Reid's room empty. Figuring the youngest two men had decided to bunk with their sisters, Caleb's next stop was Elizabeth and Lace's room and much to his suspicious mind, he found Tyler and Pogue and the girls he had expected to find, but there was no trace of Reid – and Caleb didn't really have to think hard about anywhere else Reid could have gone off to.

"We felt it," Tyler had affirmed immediately once the door had been opened for Caleb. "It wasn't either of us."

Caleb hadn't needed much time to process, had merely nodded in acknowledgement before turning around to head towards his final stop. He didn't expect for Pogue to run after him, stop him just a few feet out of earshot from the girls' dorm room.

"Listen, Caleb, man, whatever happened last night shook up the girls. Knocked Lace out of a dead ass sleep and had Liz thrashing about until she bolted awake with no idea of where she was, as though she were some type of cornered animal." Pogue ran a rough hand through the loose strands of his slightly tangled hair, "They're both okay, just fine," Pogue said in response to Caleb's silent question, "What I'm getting at here, is that whatever went down probably affected Nat and Ave too."

After Pogue had managed to calm Elizabeth down, snapping her mind back into focus, he had immediately tried to contact his sister, calling her phone repeatedly until Lace had halted his frantic dialing by handing over her own phone from where Reid had called to check up on her as Pogue was attempting to do for his own sister.

Reid hadn't told him much, not that Pogue blamed the other man, he had already assured himself that his sister was more than fine and in more than capable hands and from what Pogue had garnered, Avery had been seriously fucked up by whatever had happened; all Pogue knew was that his sister was with Devon, safe and relatively unscathed by whatever had happened and that was enough for Pogue at the moment, though he doubted Caleb would feel the same…which, admittedly, was why Pogue was leaving the honor of informing Caleb of Natalie's whereabouts to Reid and Avery.

"All I'm saying, Caleb, is to cut Reid and Avery some slack." Because they both knew that Reid was with Avery, and whether they were found in an innocent fashion or a racy display was all up to odds. "After yesterday and whatever the fuck happened a few hours ago? Neither of them, especially Reid, will be up for your shit."

Caleb scowled, but didn't object…but his lack of objection by no means suggested that he agreed either, "We'll meet up later to figure out what the hell is going on." Caleb ordered before turning from Pogue and heading for Avery and Natalie's room.

Thankfully, for everyone's sanity, Avery and Reid were both fully clothed but, much to his own displeasure, Natalie had been completely AWOHL.

Reid had been the one to open the door, and Caleb had bit his tongue as he stepped into the room and past the blonde-haired man; he had so badly wanted to say something, wanted to demand to know just why in the hell Reid was there comforting Caleb's sister and not his own, but the dark circles beneath exhausted and worried blue eyes made him curb his tongue and the physically exhausted sight of his sister had stolen all other objections from him.

Despite all the shit that had transpired between them the past few weeks, Caleb went to where she was sitting tiredly at the foot of her bed and gently tilted her chin at different angles so that he could study the sharp lines of her once soft features, the darkened obsidian of her eyes, and the purple circles of exhaustion bruising her eyes.

"I'm fine," She had said in a hoarse, cracked voice but with a subtle hint of underlying steel that belied the exhaustion physically seeping into her bones.

He didn't believe her, but he didn't call her out on it either, it was a lie for his benefit and who the hell was he to go against that small mercy? "What happened?" He questioned quietly, dangerously, as he stepped back to stare down at her with crossed arms.

"Chase," She mumbled tiredly, "I think Chase made his next move."

"You think?" Caleb quirked a brow; he didn't like dealing with uncertainties.

"It wasn't me he went after." Avery admitted, "It was Natalie; but I can't be completely positive because I haven't had the chance to talk to her about it yet."

Caleb's head jerked around to take note of the tangled sheets half on, half off, of Natalie's crumpled bed; the imprint of her body long gone to tell Caleb she hadn't been there for a while. "Where did she go?" And dammit if fury didn't flood him at the thought of where she could have gone; he vividly recalled the way she had handled it when his power had been forced upon her, he didn't doubt that she wouldn't choose to deal with whatever the fuck happened the night before in the same manner despite the fact that not even twenty four hours ago, he was the one who had her pinned to the shower wall in the boy's locker room.

Avery didn't blink as she met Caleb's gaze almost challengingly, "Devon."That Caleb hadn't been expecting, and it hit his body like a freight train – knowing it was Devon almost seemed worse than some other jackass and he didn't understand why.

"She's been gone for a few hours, I don't know when she'll be back." Avery added on, either not noticing or not caring about the sudden darkening to Caleb's flattened, expressionless features.

"We're going for breakfast," Reid – who had wisely decided to remain positioned as a silent sentinel at the opposite side of the dormitory, by the door – decided to speak after the lull between the Danvers siblings seemed to stretch on past the point of safety.

"Avery needs to get out of this room, out of this building." Reid hadn't already whisked her away because up until an hour or so ago, she had barely been able to move her heavy-weighted limbs, even still, Reid knew that she wouldn't be able to stand sans shaking without support. "We're going to take our time," A warning to Caleb that he shouldn't expect them back anytime soon.

"You can wait here for her," Avery mumbled, knowing that her brother would want to wait for multiple reasons, one of the strongest being that Natalie was the only one that truly knew what had happened, and Caleb had always needed all the answers as soon as physically possible.

That had been three hours ago, and he hadn't moved from his still, stoic position perched on the corner of Avery's bed – a position that insured that he was in direct line-of-sight to the wooden barrier that would immediately signify to his ever watchful gaze Natalie's return – since.

When Natalie finally returned, she was wearing a too-big shirt and boxers Caleb knew didn't belong to her and all of the anger that had been slowly brewing beneath the surface raged to the forefront of his conscious mind. He didn't even give her a few seconds to get over the shock of finding him in her empty room before he demanded, with a dark sneer, "Crawled back to Sanders, did you?"

Her brows drew down and she stared at him with tired exasperation as she shut the door behind herself and stepped into the room. Natalie walked slowly to her side of the room before she responded, "Do you have some sort of hard on for Devon or something, Danvers?"

"Deflection is an amateur move." He countered, and maybe it was juvenile of him considering he, too, had just deflected, but he was too furious to think like a competent adult.

"And nosiness doesn't become a grown ass man, Caleb. What's your fucking point?" Natalie challenged, suddenly angry at him for ruining the residual aftereffects of a gloriously calm morning. "Couldn't you go bother somebody else?"

Caleb rose quickly from his perch on Avery's bed, and the sudden power emanating from him made Natalie's skin break out in goosebumps. "Nobody else knows what the fuck happened last night, Parry." He growled out.

Natalie flinched, a reaction that Caleb registered almost immediately and with a very distant note of concern, "How the hell did you know?" Because Natalie doubted Avery or Reid would have told Caleb, not so soon after it had happened.

"I felt Power." He explained, though he really despised explaining himself to people. "I already met up with everyone else, all signs point to you. So what the fuck happened?"

"Goddamn Caleb, is that seriously the first thing out of your mouth?" Natalie demanded harshly, face flushing with her building ire, "You confront me with the grace of a freaking bull in a china shop, having no clue what happened, and demand answers from me without even fibbing at least the slightest slivers of concern?"

"I'm sorry, Natalie, I was under the impression you got all the babying you needed from Devon." He sneered angrily, the distance between them seemingly eaten up by their anger until they were standing directly before each other without any conscious movements from either party.

Natalie threw her hands up in complete frustration, glaring up at Caleb with equal parts incredulousness, disbelief, and just general pissiness. "Seriously, what the fuck is your problem, Caleb? And I don't just mean with Devon, I mean your problem with life in general! I'm getting fucking tired of all your self-righteous bullshit and your complete disregard for anything not yourself or Putnam!"

He wasn't too sure if his next act was a conscious decision, or some unconscious decision made from the unrestrained parts of his darkest secrets, his darkest desires. Whatever it was, he didn't question it…he couldn't question it, not when he was practically drowning himself within Natalie and all the furious emotion, the unfettered passion she had to offer.

Maybe everything had been leading up to this moment, this climax. All of their past actions, their past inactions culminating until they had no choice but to go all the way. Then again, maybe he was just too fucking angry for his own goddamned good; pissed that Devon was so obviously important to Natalie when just a day ago, Caleb was the one tasting her mouth, feeling her skin, hearing her soft gasps of unconcealed pleasure and being the cause of those little, aforementioned sounds of pleasure. Pissed that Natalie had the nerve to always call him out on his bullshit and never just let him do things his way. Pissed because Natalie could just so easily infuriate him in general.

Excuses could only take him so far though, and nothing could excuse the way he had quickly pulled Natalie to him with impassioned, rough intent but gentle, harmless handling as he suddenly branded her mouth with his own, burning a trail of rough, open and just slightly messy kisses down the slope of her jaw and the curve of her neck. Caleb could only praise the powers that be that she was suddenly clutching at him as though he were the only thing keeping her alive which sort of shocked him considering that she was just ripping him a new asshole and now she was pliant in his arms and not pushing him away as though he were the filthiest thing she could ever want.

Caleb may have been fifty shades of jackass, but he never took anything not willingly given so it was just another small miracle that Natalie seemed to need him rough and messy, her need portrayed by the fingers twisting against his scalp and the soft mewls slipping into his ears, those small sounds spurring on his mouth's frantic, bruising movements.

For some reason that probably had more to do with whatever happened last night and less to do with how furious he could make her, Natalie seemed to need this release just as much as he did, and he wouldn't question it, he wouldn't worry about being too rough, too wild, too lacking of any sort of finesse because Caleb knew already that their coupling would be hard, quick, and maybe just the smallest bit of desperate, and for now, Caleb was okay with that.

Later he would worry about the consequences, later, he would worry about Natalie's conclusions of his behavior and what his actions could mean for them when he already knew that there was no them, there was no deeper meaning to him needing to bed her as though his life suddenly depended on it. He would deal with her inevitable need to make this into something more after he had gotten what he needed, after he had given her what she needed.

Fingers suddenly clawing at his back made all of his semi-coherent thoughts disappear; Caleb was functioning on pure default, all gut reaction and zero thought.

It wasn't long before he had her naked, lying on her bed with his much larger body caging her against the still tangled mess of her sheets. He may have Used to get them naked so quickly, but he couldn't honestly remember if he had, everything was starting to blur together, and thinking was physically impossible as his mouth latched onto the tantalizing, teasing peaks of breasts he hadn't ever seen before.

Natalie stared down at Caleb's dark head of hair as he laved at her sensitive nipples, one large, engulfing hand pinching and twirling at the breast not currently in the hot confines of his mouth, and lord when he nibbled at the wetted tip of her breast it was like a direct shot to her clit causing the heated furnace in her lower abdomen to pulse almost violently with renewed vigor.

Hellfire and damnation, she cursed mentally as she wrapped her legs around his hips and welcomed the teasing stroke of his shaft against her near embarrassingly wet folds. The whine that escaped her throat at the sensation was sheer wanton abandon and it made the big body above her ripple in reaction.

Her thighs tightened around him and she knew her breasts would be sore and bruised all over by the end of their unpredicted sexepades; she couldn't find it within herself to care. She rubbed her smooth folds against him twice more before he was jerking away from her breasts, his shoulders flexing with tension as his hands framed the bed on either side of her head, his pupils blown and his eyes sheer obsidian in his pleasure.

"Say no," He demanded roughly, his voice barely recognizable to either of their ears as he shifted his pelvis until he was poised to enter, his tip pressing into her minutely before he came back to his senses just long enough to make sure that this was wanted by both parties.

Natalie's eyes broke from his gaze to peer down at the sudden space presented between their bodies, her attention shifting past her panting breasts to look down at where he was just barely connected to her, taking a moment to study what she hadn't yet been able to study.

He was heavy, thick in girth, full in length and Jesus if she didn't take a special moment to just marvel in the sheer beauty of his gorgeous cock; but she only took a moment, because by that point, she needed it too damn bad to take her time exploring every facet of it, every vein, every ridge, she was too far into whatever the hell she and Caleb were doing to worship any part of his utterly beautiful body and truthfully, she didn't want to worship any part of Caleb Danvers…that was too emotionally empowering of an act and Natalie wanted nothing to do with the combination of emotional intimacy and Caleb Danvers.

Her eyes returned to his, his jaw sculpted granite, as he not so easily awaited her response to his not so eloquent demand. "Yes." He slid home in one smooth, full thrust stretching her to near painful sensations as the heat that ensconced him seemed to be something of biblical proportions; he had never felt someone so wet for him before, and fuck if it didn't make his hips jerk and his breath falter even as Natalie gasped soundlessly at the sheer magnitude of pleasurable sensation that accompanied the slight burn of his cock inside of her.

Caleb Danvers was a man who prided himself on his self-control, but buried balls-deep inside of a breathy, slightly sweaty, fully reactive Natalie Parry had all semblance of his self-control soaring out the proverbial window. He could barely think straight outside of the sheer pleasure making his body hum, let alone feign any sort of physical or mental coherency; the slightest squeeze of her tight walls around his aching cock and he knew he wouldn't last long, the slightest whimper escaping her mouth as her body arched beneath his own, and he knew that as soon as he made the slightest of shifts of his hips, he'd be a goner, he gave himself five minutes.

So he shifted the angle of his hips, took one hand from the mattress to nudge at her left knee and spread her thighs wide, his hand curling around her knee when he had her where he wanted her and then he moved. His hips slamming against hers roughly, jerking out and then pushing back in at an angle that had his pelvis sliding roughly into the soft circle of her clit with each thrust; each penetration making her cry out and writhe beneath him until each of her exhalations was just one long, breathy moan of incoherent, full-bodied pleasure.

He himself was so far gone that he barely even registered the feel of her fingers digging into his shoulder blades before she was carving shallow lines down the planes of his back, following parallel to either side of his spine until the whole length of his back stung in a wickedly exotic way that had his spine arching back, their torsos sliding together as her nipples teased and brushed his chest.

He was relentless though, nothing slowed him down, and when she suddenly clenched around him, Natalie's whole body trembling beneath him, he ducked his head down and reveled in the feel of her nails piercing the curve of his naked ass as her hands dipped to cup the firm flesh. He rode her steadily through her orgasm, and as the last notes of her pleasured cries coated the air around them he buried his left hand into the damp, tangled mass of hair at her nape, his fingers curling around the intertwined strands until he was sure her scalp was lit by a faint, tingling pain before he turned his chin, his mouth latching onto the curve of her neck just below her jaw, drawing the salty skin into his mouth as his own release ripped through his very being.

His thrusts faltered, jerked, and twisted, but didn't stop, never stopped; not until Natalie had managed to orgasm another time while milking every last part of his cum from his throbbing, dreadfully, painfully over sensitized cock. The quick, rough orgasm could only be rivaled in experience by the very first Caleb had expelled himself within a woman's body, and in comparison, that first orgasm was only so great because of the novelty of the sensation; sex hadn't ever been that good with Sarah, and fuck it all if that realization didn't chafe his skin.

It took ten minutes for Caleb to work up the strength to pull his aching cock from the still softly convulsing confines of Natalie's core, and he withdrew himself with a wince of pain and a sub-vocal hiss; he hadn't ever been so sensitized before, sensitized enough that he just wanted to leave his cock in Natalie until he could breathe without wincing in a mix of pleasure and pain.

It took four tries for Natalie to work up the strength to unclench her fingers from the firm muscles of Caleb's ass, four tries to uncurl her fingers, the joints in her hands stiff and tight as her hands trailed midway up his back before falling uselessly to the dirty sheets beneath their bodies. They'd been done for a few minutes, but hell if she wanted to move sometime within the next century.

When Caleb did finally manage to pull out, it took a couple more minutes before he found it within himself to push off of Natalie's still panting body and shit he loathed the very idea of getting up but thankfully, he hated the idea of staying for the awkward post-coital after talk even more than forcing his pleasure-imbued body into any action aside from sleep.

He dressed in slow, methodical movements in an attempt to inhibit the slight trembling of his hands, each shift of his body measured as he kept his body angled in a way that had him facing the door and not Natalie's unmoving form; and if his not facing her hid the darkening of his eyes as the skin of his back stretched tight in a harsh sting as he pulled his shirt on – that not unpleasant stinging pain a result of the trail of fingermarks down his spine – well, that was just a bonus.

He only turned to face her when he heard the sheets shift and bare feet hit the wooden floor, was surprised to find her already peering at him from over her right shoulder, her hair a wild, sexed up mass around her shoulders and down her back and her eyes an intense shade of blue he hadn't ever seen before. Post-coital Natalie Parry was a sight he couldn't help but to find sinfully alluring and fuck he had hoped that maybe one roll with her would do away with his tightly caged want for her, but he suddenly feared it had done the exact opposite.

"So," Natalie prompted when Caleb continued to only look at her instead of say anything. "We'll talk later, about Putnam?" Natalie prompted, she just wanted to be done with whatever Caleb wanted, she needed to digest, shower, and figure out just what the fuck had happened not exclusively in that order.

"That's it?" Caleb seemed almost shocked, much to Natalie's bemusement; as though he were bewildered that that was what she chose to address instead of the mind-blowing, edge-of-unconsciousness-causing, fantastic sex they had just shared.

"I'm sorry," She mused wryly as she forced herself to her feet, disregarding the tangled sheets she would need to change in favor of turning to fully face him, "Was this supposed to be more than just a seriously needed roll in the sheets? Was this supposed to be some sort of stake of claim?" Quirking a brow in silent challenge, she waited for him to respond, her smirk growing a tad more condescending the longer he maintained his silence.

"—" His shock twisted into a dark scowl.

"Thought not," She gave a solitary snort of derision before sparing him no second glance and padding her way towards the bathroom; shower first, then she would allow herself the daunting task of letting her actions catch up to her.

"So I'll talk to you about it later." 'It' being Putnam as she waved a hand dismissively over her bare shoulder; she wasn't modest, he had already seen her naked and enjoyed expending himself within her nude and bare body, she wasn't going to be shy just because they were done and he was now fully clothed.

It was only once she was in the bathroom, the door shut and locked firmly behind her, that she let the condescension fall from her features, it was only then that she let her straight shoulders curve inwards and the weariness of her exhausted body show.

Caleb had appeared so calm and collected, had looked at her as though nothing had happened, as though maybe he had just arrived to her room and not just driven her crazy with sex, that Natalie hadn't been about letting him see anything but perfected, unaffected snarkiness from her in response to such cool disregard.

But now that the threat of Caleb's attention was gone? Her calm façade had completed evaporated, her knees quietly knocking together, wobbling before they gave out and she was forced to support her body against the bathroom counter; her thighs still trembling as her fingers curled tight into the cold linoleum base of the sink until her knuckles popped and her skin strained white.

What the hell had she just gotten herself into? Because though she had no intentions of pursuing a relationship with Caleb, and Natalie was more than positive that Caleb had no intentions of pursuing anything with her, she knew it wasn't going to be as simple as brushing off the past half hour. There had been too many incidents between them, too many heated, full of not-so pleasant meaning kisses exchanged for whatever was going on between them to just fall out without complications or further actions of a similar nature.

Jesus, Chase Putnam seemed to be the least of her concerns; and considering the devastation he had caused within herself, Avery, and possibly even lace and Elizabeth just last night, that was saying something.

AN:

All followers, favoriters, reviewers, non-reviewers, continuous guests, and first-timers: I hope you enjoyed!

Until next time,

x